Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

Ohana Wellness Clinic respects your privacy and strictly adheres to the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) and Electronic Documents Act with our patient’s information. We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and protecting any personal information that is collected. Privacy of your personal information is an important part of providing you with quality care. We assure that our commitment to collecting, using and disclosing personal information is maintained confidential and only to the extent necessary for the services that we provide. To better protect your privacy this policy explains our information practices and procedures. This privacy policy is in accordance with privacy legislation and the standards of the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (governing body). PHIPA requires health information custodians to protect personal health information in their custody or control and to ensure that records are retained, transferred and disposed of in a secure manner. This privacy act applies to any collection, use or disclosure of personal information. Sarah Nottingham. RMT will act as the Privacy Information Officer and will be as open and transparent as possible about the way your personal information is handled.

What is Personal Information?

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. This information includes all information recorded in health history intake forms and information that is verbally provided or recorded during an assessment or treatment. Storage, retention and destruction of your personal information complies with existing legislation and privacy protocols.

We will collect, use and disclose information about you for the following purposes:

To provide therapeutic treatments in a safe and effective way

To assess your health needs

To enable us to contact you

To communicate with other treating health care providers, including family doctors, chiropractors, physiotherapists, etc. (only with your written consent in a signed release).

To maintain communication in order to book and confirm appointments

To allow us to efficiently follow-up for treatments, care and billing

To complete and submit claims for third party payment

To advise you of special events or opportunities (eg. a seminar or development of a new service) that we have available

To comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including the delivery of patient’s charts and records.

To prepare materials for the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (HPARB) or the Complaints Committee

To invoice for services

To collect unpaid accounts

Why we collect Personal Information?We collect, use, and disclose personal information in order to serve our clients. We collect information as required by our governing body for Massage Therapy; the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario to facilitate treatment plans.

Protecting Personal Information

Paper and electronic information/ files are stored in a secure manner and are only accessible by clinic personnel. Electronic information is protected by passwords.

Staff is trained to collect, use and disclose personal information only as necessary to fulfill their duties.

Massage Therapists are regulated by the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario who may inspect our records and interview therapists as a part of their regulatory activities (Peer Assessment) in the public interest. External regulators have their own strict privacy obligations.Retention and Destruction of Personal Information
Your records will be retained for a period of ten years after the last contact. After this time they are destroyed by shredding. Any electronic information is destroyed by deleting it and, when the hardware is discarded, I ensure that the hard drive is physically destroyed.Questions or Concerns

You can contact Sarah Nottingham, RMT, our Privacy Information Officer, who is responsible for ensuring the personal information is used in accordance with the privacy act. If you have any questions or concerns Sarah Nottingham, RMT, can be reached at Ohana Wellness Clinic, 2315A Bloor St. West, Toronto, ON, M6S 1P1 (416) 820 8588, or you may email at sarah@ohanawellnessclinic.com.